Systems and methods for managing a loan application

ABSTRACT

The disclosed embodiments provide systems and methods for managing a loan application. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed that may include identifying one or more unfulfilled conditions associated with a loan application of a customer and sending, to a customer device, a request for a loan application document based on the identified one or more unfulfilled conditions. The method may also include receiving, from the customer device, a responsive loan application document. The method may also include identifying a document type for the responsive loan application document and confirming that the responsive loan application document is a valid document, Finally, the method may also include sending loan application status information to the customer device based on the confirmation.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/810,366, filed Nov. 13, 2017, which claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/144,995, filed Dec. 31, 2013, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/751,577, filed onJan. 11, 2013, the disclosures of each application being incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to financial service systems,and more particularly, to systems, processes, and computer programs forfacilitating the management of loan applications.

BACKGROUND

Financial service providers offer a wide range of financial services andproducts. Examples of financial service providers include loanoriginators, banks, credit unions, savings and loans, thrifts, realestate brokers and/or agents, home builders, financial planners, or anyother entity capable of managing a loan application.

Unfortunately, existing financial services systems offer limitedfunctionality for the management of the loan applications. Loanapplication processing is typically inefficient and time-consuming,requiring a lot of paperwork be processed manually. Loan applicants arelimited in their ability to provide responsive loan applicationdocuments electronically. Further, where such applications are submittedelectronically, the processing is typically handled in a manner thatrequires re-interpretation of new documentation received in order tomatch it to the pertinent customer account and loan application details.The loan approval process also relies substantially on extraction ofuser document submissions from emails and manually linking thosedocuments to specific unique identifiers to facilitate review andapproval of the loan applications. Additionally, existing systemstypically offer limited functionality with regards to confirming thevalidity of loan application documents submitted by users.

SUMMARY

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, systems and methods are providedfor managing a financial loan application. For example, the disclosedembodiments may allow a financial service provider, or other type ofentity, to reduce the time and paperwork required to approve a loanapplication. In some embodiments, the loan application may include amortgage application. The financial service provider, through, forexample, financial service provider computer components, may request andreceive one or more documents associated with the loan applicationprovided by a customer, such as, for example, through a mobile device.For example, in one aspect, the customer may receive the documentrequest and take a picture of the requested document using the mobiledevice. The customer may upload the document instantly to a web basedinfrastructure associated with the financial service provider. Thefinancial service provider may identify the type of document (e.g. w-2form, pay stub, etc.) and assign a unique identifier to the document.The unique identifier may associate the document to a loan applicationcustomer account. In certain embodiments, the financial service providermay use the unique identifier to allow the document to be immediatelyreviewed for approval. The financial service provider or another entitymay review the uploaded document and approve the loan application.

In another embodiment, a method is disclosed that may include sending arequest for a loan application document to a customer device, therequest including a prompt for a customer associated with the customerdevice to upload the loan application document to a server. The methodmay also include receiving from the customer device a responsive loanapplication document, the responsive loan application document includingan electronic version of the requested loan application document. Inanother embodiment, the method may include assigning a unique identifierto the responsive loan application document, the unique identifierassociating the responsive loan application document with a customeraccount provided by the financial service provider. The method mayfurther include identifying a document type for the responsive loanapplication document and confirming that the responsive loan applicationdocument is a valid document corresponding to the requested loanapplication document based on the identified document type. In otheraspects, the method may include sending loan application statusinformation to the customer device for display by the customer device,the loan application status information including a confirmationnotification that the responsive loan application document was acceptedfor processing a loan application associated with the customer

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and,together with the description, serve to explain the disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system for providing loan applicationprocesses consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates another exemplary system for providing loanapplication processes consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary loan application processconsistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary loan document request processconsistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary loan document processingprocess consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary loan status notificationprocess consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary loan application completionprocess consistent with disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the disclosed embodiments,examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverconvenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system 100 for managing aloan application. The components and arrangement of the components ofsystem 100 may vary. For example, while some components of system 100are represented as a single component, in some embodiments, one or moreof those components may include multiple components, may be combinedwith other components, may be omitted, or duplicated. Furthermore,system 100 may additionally include other entities and/or sources ofinformation that is associated with financial services, such as forexample loan applications. In one embodiment, system 100 may include anetwork 110, financial service provider 120, customer(s) 130, customerdevice(s) 140, and loan affiliate(s) 150.

Network 110 may be any type of network configured to providecommunications between components of FIG. 1. For example, network 100may be any type of network (including infrastructure) that providescommunications, exchanges information, and/or facilitates the exchangeof information, such as the Internet, a Local Area Network, or othersuitable connection(s) that enables system 100 to send and receiveinformation between the components of system 100.

Financial service provider 120 may be an entity that provides one ormore financial services and/or financial service products for one ormore customers. In one aspect, financial service provider 120 maycomprise a loan originator and may provide and manage the origination ofloan applications. In certain embodiments, financial service provider120 may include a bank, credit union, savings and loans, thrifts, realestate broker and/or agent, home builders, financial planners, and/orany entity capable of managing a loan application. A loan may include,for example, a real estate loan, such as a mortgage loan. The disclosedembodiments may be implemented with other types of loans or financialservices or financial service products. In certain aspects, financialservice provider 120 may associate each loan with a customer's financialservice account managed by financial service provider 120. In oneembodiment, financial service accounts may further include, for example,loan accounts, loan application accounts, etc. In one example, financialservice provider 120 may include a server that is configured to executesoftware instructions stored in one or more memory devices to performone or more operations consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

Customer(s) 130 may include one or more customers associated withfinancial service accounts of financial service provider 120. Therefore,customer 130 may include a prospective borrower for a loan including amortgage loan. Customer 130 may communicate with other components ofsystem 100 using one or more customer device(s) 140, including anysuitable computer device and/or telephonic device. In some embodiments,customer device 140 may be one or more electronic devices, such as alaptop or desktop computer, mobile device (e.g., smartphone), tablet,and the like. In one aspect, customer device 140 may be capable ofreceiving information through network 110, using known informationdelivery mechanisms, such as email, text, app alerts etc.

Loan affiliate(s) 150 may include one or more entities involved in loantransactions. For example, loan affiliate 150 may include a real estateoffice, title company, underwriter, escrow company, home inspector,credit reporting agency, etc. In some embodiments, loan affiliate 150may include a separate entity that does business with financial serviceprovider 120. In other aspects, financial service provider 120 and loanaffiliate 150 may be the same entity. Loan affiliate 150 may include oneor more processors, memory devices, and other computing components thatare configured to perform one or ore processes consistent with thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary system that may be associated with a financialservice provider and included in financial service provider 120. In oneembodiment, the system includes a server 220 having one or moreprocessors 221, one or more memories 223, and one or more input/output(I/O) devices 222. Alternatively, server 220 may take the form of ageneral purpose computer, a mainframe computer, or any combination ofthese components. Server 220 may be standalone, or it may be part of asubsystem, which may be part of a larger system.

Processor 221 may include one or more known processing devices, such asa microprocessor from the Pentium™ or Xeon™ family manufactured byIntel™, the Turion™ family manufactured by AMD™, or any of variousprocessors manufactured by Sun Microsystems.

Memory 223 may include one or more storage devices configured to storeinstructions used by processor 221 to perform functions related todisclosed embodiments. For example, memory 223 may be configured withprogram 224 that performs several functions when executed by processor221. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments are not limited to separateprograms or computers configured to perform dedicated tasks. Forexample, memory 223 may include a single program 224 that performs thefunctions of the server 120, or program 224 could comprise multipleprograms. Additionally, processor 221 may execute one or more programslocated remotely from server 220. For example, financial serviceprovider system 120 may access one or more remote programs that, whenexecuted, perform functions related to disclosed embodiments.

Memory 223 may also be configured with operating system 225 thatperforms several functions well known in the art when executed by server220. By way of example, the operating system may be Microsoft Windows™,Unix™, Linux™, Solaris™, or some other operating system. The choice ofoperating system, and even the use of an operating system, is notcritical to any disclosed embodiment.

I/O devices 222 may be one or more devices that are configured to allowdata to be received and/or transmitted by server 220. I/O devices 222may include one or more digital and/or analog communication devices thatallow server 220 to communicate with other machines and devices, such ascustomer devices 140.

Server 220 may also be communicatively connected to one or more datarepositories 226, as shown in FIG. 2. Server 220 may be communicativelyconnected to data repositories 226 through network 110. Data repository226 may include one or more files or databases 227 that storeinformation and are accessed and/or managed through server 220. By wayof example, databases 227 may be Oracle™ databases, Sybase™ databases,or other relational databases or non-relational databases, such asHadoop sequence files, HBase, or Cassandra. The databases or other filesmay include, for example, data and information related to the source anddestination of a network request, the data contained in the request,etc. Systems and methods of disclosed embodiments, however, are notlimited to separate databases. In one aspect, financial service provider120 may include data repository 226. Alternatively, data repository 226may be located remotely from financial service provider 120.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram 300 of an exemplary loan application process,consistent with disclosed embodiments. For example, in step 310,financial service provider 120 may request a document associated withthe loan application. In one aspect, server 220 may execute softwareprocesses that analyze one or more conditions required to process a loanapplication (e.g. one or more documents and information needed for loanapproval). In one embodiment, server 220 may identify one or moreconditions for processing a loan application, such as a document (e.g.,copy of driver's license, etc.). Based on the analysis, server 220 maygenerate and send a request for the one or more documents needed tofulfill the one or more conditions. Server 220 may send a request,including a prompt, for the customer 130 to upload the document. Thecustomer 130, via for example, customer device 140, may send therequested document to financial service provider 120. In one embodiment,server 220 may receive the customer's response with the document (step320). Server 220 may be configured to execute software processes thatprocess the received document to determine whether to approve a loanapplication associated with the customer 130. Server 220 may generate anotification regarding the status of the loan application and send thenotification to customer 130, via, for example, customer device 140(step 330).

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary document request processconsistent with disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, server 220may review customer one or more conditions for a loan from financialservice provider 120 (step 410). The conditions may be stored asinformation in a memory that identify one or more items of information,for example, that may be required for loan approval. In one aspect, acondition may indicate that one or ore documents and/or information arerequired for loan approval. For example, documents may include w-2forms, pay stubs, bank statements, appraisal documents, home inspectiondocuments, signed contract, disclosure forms, copies of driver'slicenses, etc. A document may be associated with loan affiliate 150. Insome embodiments, loan affiliate 150 may request a document from server220 and/or customer 130, while in other embodiments loan affiliate 150may produce the document and send the document to server 220.

Server 220 may store the documents in a memory that is accessible by oneor more loan processing software processes executed by server 220 oranother component of financial service provider 120. For example,financial service provider 120 may perform processes that generate aweb-enabled user interface that may allow communications betweencustomer 130 and financial service provider 120. The web-enabledinterface may include a website, web portal, mobile device application(mobile application), etc. Server 220 may arrange and organize documentsreceived by server 220 and associated with one or more loan conditions,such that they may be presented in the web-enabled user interface.

Server 220, loan affiliate 150, and/or another entity may request adocument associated with a condition associated with customer 130. Inone example, once server 220 has identified a condition that is neededto fulfill a loan application, server 220 may generate a request for thedocument associated with the condition (step 420). For example, server220 may generate a request for a w-2 or pay stub associated withcustomer 130. Server 220 may request the document by creating an alertmessage and sending the alert message to customer device 140. The alertmessage may include, for example, a text alert, email, mobileapplication alert, or any other message that may notify customer 130 ofthe unfulfilled condition. In one embodiment, server 220 may generateand send an alert message that is configured to be received andprocessed by a mobile application executing on customer device 140,which may be a mobile device. For example, the alert message may includetext (or graphics, etc.) identifying the customer and the document thatis being requested (e.g., “Hi {customer name}, You Need to Upload YourW-2 Form”). In another embodiment, server 220 may generate and send analert message that is configured to be received and processed by a webserver executing on customer device 140, which may be a computer. Forexample, the alert message may include a notification on a websiteassociated with financial service provider 120 identifying the customerand the document being requested.

In another aspect, server 220 may prompt customer 130 to upload one ormore documents associated with one or more unfulfilled conditions andcustomer 130 may select which document to upload. The alert message mayinclude a list of the requested documents that customer 130 may selectvia an interface displayed by customer device 140. Additionally oralternatively, server 220 may send program code that initiates theactivation of a digital camera process and mechanisms implemented bycustomer device 140.

Server 220 may generate and send a verification message, for example amessage that is configured to be received and processed by a mobileapplication executing on customer device 140. In some embodiments, theverification message may include a notification on a website and/or anemail. The verification message may include a confirmation requestasking customer 130 to verify that customer 130 aims to upload aparticular document (e.g., a w-2 form). For example, the verificationmessage may include text (or graphics, etc.) (e.g. “You Have Selected ToUpload a W-2 Form, Would You Like to Proceed?”) In other embodiments,customer device 140 may include a mobile application that is configuredto execute processes for generating verification messages (e.g., alertmessages) consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

Server 220 may be configured to generate a request for customer 130 toupload the requested document. For example, server 220 may promptcustomer 130 to upload the document (step 440). In one embodiment,server 220 may generate and send a mobile application alert stating“Please Upload W-2 Form Now”. The message may be configured to bereceived and processed by a mobile application and/or web serverexecuting on customer device 140.

In certain embodiments, customer device 140 may receive or collect therequested document. In one example, in response to the prompt fromserver 220, customer 130 may record a digital image of the requesteddocument using a digital camera included in customer device 140.Customer device 140 may be configured to execute known digital cameraprocesses to record and store images, such as the image of the document.In one aspect, server 220 may send a prompt message to customer device140 that includes options for customer 130 to select that initiates adigital camera function (e.g., take a picture of your W-2 form, etc.).Upon selection, customer device 140 may execute a software process(es)that initiates the digital camera functionality of customer device 140to enable customer 130 to take a photograph of the requested document.Once taken, the software executing on customer device 140 mayautomatically provide the image of the document in a response messageand send the response message to server 220.

In other aspects, customer 130 may initiate the digital camerafunctionalities of customer device 140 and record the image of thedocument. Server 220 (or a mobile application executing on customerdevice 140) may provide an interface with an option to link a recordedimage on customer device 140 to a response message that is sent toserver 220 in response to the prompt for uploading the document.

Server 220 may receive the response message including the document imagefrom customer device 140. In response, server 220 may perform softwareprocesses that analyze the received document and generate a notificationmessage. Server 220 may provide the notification to customer device 140that server 220 has received the document (step 450). In one embodiment,server 220 may generate and send a mobile application alert indicatingthat the document was received. In another embodiment, server 220 maygenerate and send a website notification indicating that the documentwas received.

In certain embodiments, the response message sent by customer device 140may include the uploaded document as a file. Certain embodiments includeserver 220 performing processes that process the file associated with areceived document (e.g., step 320 of FIG. 3).

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an exemplary document processing processconsistent with disclosed embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5, server 220may process the file associated with the document. In one aspect, server220 may verify one or more file requirements associated with thedocument to determine whether they meet one or more criteria. As anon-limiting example, server 220 may ensure that the file meets size,source, and virus requirements before it is uploaded to financialservice provider 120. For instance, as shown in step 510, server 220 mayverify that file characteristics of a received document meet certainthreshold requirements. The file characteristics may include the size ofthe file, the source of the file (e.g., IP address, phone number, orother identifier associated with customer 130 and/or customer device140). Server 220 may analyze the file characteristics to determinewhether server 220 will accept the file for processing (e.g., does thefile exceed size limits, is the source of the file a safe source or onethat has been flagged as potentially unauthorized, etc.). In someembodiments, server 220 may determine if the file is under apredetermined size (e.g. 2 MB) and that the file has a valid extension(e.g. .png, .jpeg, .gif). Furthermore, server 220 may verify the filerequirements to determine whether the file contains a virus. Forexample, server 220 may run a virus scan on the received file.Additionally or alternatively, server 220 may verify the number of filesuploaded by customer device 140. If this number exceeds a predeterminedthreshold (e.g. 10 files per day), server 220 may not processes thefiles.

If server 220 determines that any threshold requirement is not met (e.g.file exceeds size limit, file not from a safe source, file includes avirus, etc.), server 220 may generate and send an error message tocustomer 130 through customer device 140. For example, server 220 maysend a mobile application alert indicating an error associated with theuploaded document (e.g., a message including “Error, Unable to UploadDocument, Please Try Another Document”). If the threshold requirementsare met (e.g., no error condition is found), server 220, in oneembodiment, may send a notification to customer device 140 indicatingthat the document was uploaded successfully (e.g., was accepted). Forexample, server 220 may generate and send a mobile application alert“Upload Successful”.

In one embodiment, server 220 may assign a unique identifier to the fileassociated with the loan document (step 520). The unique identifier mayinclude, for example, one or more numbers, letter, characters, and/or acombination of these elements, although other types of information maybe used as the unique identifier. In another embodiment, server 220 mayassociate the unique identifier with a customer account associated withfinancial service provider 120 (e.g. loan application customer account).Additionally, server 220 may associate the unique identifier with thetype of document requested (e.g. w-2 form). In one aspect, server 220may only assign a unique identifier to the file if the file met all filerequirements.

As shown in step 530, server 220 may store the file in a database, forinstance database 227. The database may include temporary and/orsearchable databases (e.g., Teradata or the like). Server 220 mayexecute software that may request and/or locate the file from database227 using the unique identifier.

Server 220 may execute software that identifies the type of documentassociated with the file (step 540). In some embodiments, server 220 mayexecute software that searches the content of the document for markersand compares the markers with predetermined markers associated with aspecific document type. Markers may include, for example, specifickeywords, location of words in the document, font of words, icons,characters, etc. For example, server 220 may search the uploadeddocument for a social security number (or text that is formatted in theknown social security number format (e.g., xxx-xx-xxxx), the text“Medicare wages and tips”, the text “W-2” in the bottom left corner,etc. to identify this document as a w-2 form. In certain aspects, server220 may require that certain markers be recognized or that a certainnumber of markers be recognized. For example, if the markers recognizedby server 220 do not meet a predetermined threshold, server 220 maygenerate and send an error message to customer 130 via customer device140. In one embodiment, server 220 may send a mobile application alertthrough customer device 140, such as “Error, Cannot Identify theDocument, Please Try Again or Try Another Document”. In accordance withcertain embodiments, server 220 may associate each document type (e.g.w-2 form, pay stub, appraisal form) with a separate predeterminedthreshold. Therefore, for example, server 220 may require that fivemarkers be recognized to identify a document as a w-2 form, whilerequiring that only three markers be recognized to identify a pay stub.

Server 220 may additionally send an error message associated with thedocument or store the file document in a queue (step 550). If server 220determines that the received document from customer device 140 is adifferent document type than the document requested by server 220,server 220 may generate and send an error message to customer device140. For example, if server requested a w-2 form but does not recognizea sufficient number of markers to identify the document as a w-2 form,server 22 may generate and send an error message (e.g. “Error, DocumentNot Recognizable as a W-2, Please Try Another Document”).

If server 220 determines that the received document from customer device140 is of the same document type as the document requested by server220, server 220 may store processed file(s) associated with the receiveddocument. In one embodiment, server 220 may store the file, associatedwith the loan document, in a queue with a unique address (step 560). Thequeue location may depend on the type of document contained in the file.For example, server 220 may include memory that is partitioned(physically or logically or both) based on the document types (e.g.,certain address ranges reserved for W-2 type documents, income-relateddocuments, etc.). In certain embodiments, server 220 may be configuredto execute processes that request, search, and access the informationstored in the queues.

FIG. 6 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary loan status notificationprocess consistent with disclosed embodiments. In one embodiment, server220 may generate and send an indication to customer device 140 that thedocument received from customer device 140 and processed by server 220is available for access (step 610). Customer device 140 may generate aninterface that includes an option for the user to request to view one ormore documents loaded by server 220. For example, when requested by amobile application executing on customer device 140, server 220 maygenerate and send the content of the received document. Additionally oralternatively, server 220 may generate and send a message to customerdevice 140 to display the received document on a website associated withfinancial service provider 120. In one embodiment, server 220 may sendan identifier of each document associated with the customer 130 thatuploaded the documents.

In certain embodiments, server 220 may generate and send loan statusinformation to customer device 140 reflecting the status of a loanapplication. For example, as shown in step 620, server 220 may beconfigured to generate and send customer 130 a message through customerdevice 140 indicating the current status of the loan application inconnection with one or more conditions that had to be fulfilled (e.g.,“Condition Fulfilled” or “Condition Pending”). Thus, as an example,server 220 may send a message indicating that a document request for aparticular document type (e.g., W-2) was received, and that thecorresponding condition has been fulfilled. In some embodiments, server220 may update a web-enabled interface to notify customer 130 that thedocument has been successfully uploaded. For example, server 220 maygenerate graphics, text, etc. to indicate the document upload status,such as a graphical check mark next to the w-2 form shown on theweb-enabled interface.

In some embodiments, server 220 may be configured to generate and sendmessages with loan affiliate 150 consistent with disclosed embodiments.For instance, in one aspect, server 220 may notify loan affiliate 150 ofa mortgage condition associated with a loan application (e.g., step630). In one aspect, server 220 may notify loan affiliate 150 thatcustomer 130 has provided the requested document or that the unfulfilledcondition is fulfilled. Additionally or alternatively, server 220 maysend loan affiliate 150 the uploaded document.

In other embodiments, server 220 may request a document from loanaffiliate 150 or another entity. For example, server 220 may request adocument provided by loan affiliate 150 associated with the loanapplication of customer 130 (e.g. home inspection report). The documentmay fulfill a condition for the loan application. Server 220 may processa file associated with the document and notify loan affiliate 150 and/orcustomer 130 as described above.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram 700 of an exemplary loan processing processconsistent with disclosed embodiments. In step 710, customer 130 (viacustomer device 140), loan affiliate 150, or another element or entitymay receive from financial service provider 120 a document requestassociated with the loan. For example, customer 130 may receive thedocument request through customer device 140 as an email, text alert,mobile application alert, etc. Alternatively or additionally, customer130 may view the document request on a web-enabled user interface (e.g.website) associated with financial service provider 120. As describedabove, the document request may be associated with an unfulfilledcondition for the loan application, Customer 130 may choose to accept orignore the document request.

If customer 130 accepts the document request, customer 130 may fulfillthe document request by uploading the requested document (step 720). Forexample, customer 130 may use customer device 140 to record a picture ofthe requested document. Customer 130 may use customer device 140 toupload the requested document using the recorded picture, or by othermeans consistent with the disclosed embodiments.

The disclosed embodiments also provide notifications of loan applicationstatus (step 730). For example, server 220 may be configured to generateand send to customer device 140 a loan status message reflecting thestatus of a loan application associated with the requested documents(e.g., step 730). In one aspect, server 220 may generate and send tocustomer device 140 a notification message that a condition has beenapproved and fulfilled or that it is pending and requires furtherapproval. The notification may be an email, SMS alert, or a mobileapplication alert. Additionally or alternatively, server 220 maygenerate and provide loan status information for access by customer 130via a web-enabled interface.

Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the disclosedembodiments disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the disclosed embodiments being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for capturing electronic documents forloan application processing, comprising: one or more processors; and oneor more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, perform operations of: receiving a request for aloan application document; displaying an alert message on a userinterface, wherein the alert message requests an electronic copy of theloan application document; capturing, using a digital camera, anelectronic version of the loan application document; determining whetherthe captured electronic version is consistent with the requestedelectronic copy by: identifying a plurality of markers in the capturedelectronic version, determining whether one or more of the identifiedplurality of markers corresponds to one or more predetermined markersassociated with the electronic copy, and determining whether a number ofthe identified plurality of markers that correspond to the one or morepredetermined markers meets or exceeds a threshold; and sending thecaptured electronic version to a processing device when the determinednumber meets or exceeds the threshold.
 2. The device according to claim1, wherein the markers further comprise at least one of one or morekeywords, one or more keyword formats, one or more phrases, one or morelocations of keywords, one or more locations of phrases, one or moreicons, or one or more characters.
 3. The device according to claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise displaying a notification on theuser interface that the captured electronic version has beensuccessfully submitted to the processing device.
 4. The device accordingto claim 3, wherein displaying a notification on the user interfacefurther comprises an indication that the loan application is approved.5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the user interface furtherincludes means for uploading the captured electronic version.
 6. Thedevice according to claim 1, wherein the requested loan applicationdocument further comprises one or more of at least one w-2 form, paystub, bank statement, appraisal document, home inspection document,signed contract, disclosure form, or driver's license copy.
 7. Thedevice according to claim 1, wherein, when the captured electronicversion is inconsistent with the requested electronic copy, theoperations further comprise: determining whether the captured electronicversion is inconsistent based on at least one of a file size or a fileextension associated with the electronic version; and displaying anotification on the user interface of the inconsistency determination.8. The device according to claim 1, wherein, when the capturedelectronic version is inconsistent with the requested electronic copythe operations further comprise: determining whether the capturedelectronic version is inconsistent based on a failure of the determinednumber to meet or exceed the threshold; and displaying a notification onthe user interface of the inconsistency determination.
 9. The deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein, when the captured electronic version isinconsistent with the requested electronic copy the operations furthercomprise: determining whether the captured electronic version isinconsistent based on an inability to identify markers in the capturedelectronic version; and displaying a notification on the user interfaceof the inconsistency determination.
 10. The device, according to claim1, wherein, when the captured electronic version is inconsistent withthe requested electronic copy, the operations further comprise:capturing a second electronic version of the requested loan applicationdocument; identifying a second plurality of markers in the capturedsecond electronic version; determining whether one or more of theidentified second plurality of markers in the captured second electronicversion corresponds to the one or more predetermined markers associatedwith the electronic copy; determining whether a second number of theidentified second plurality of markers in the captured second electronicversion that correspond to the one or more predetermined markers meetsor exceeds the threshold; and sending the captured second electronicversion to the processing device when the determined second number meetsor exceeds the threshold.
 11. The device according to claim 10, whereinthe operations further comprise displaying a notification on the userinterface that the second electronic version has been successfullysubmitted to the processing device.
 12. The device according to claim 1,further comprising: receiving an indication that a user will not capturethe electronic version of the requested loan application document;sending the request for the loan application document to a deviceassociated with a loan affiliate: receiving the electronic version fromthe loan affiliate; and sending the electronic version to the processingdevice.
 13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise sending the request for the loan application documentand the received electronic version over a network.
 14. The device,according to claim 1, after capturing the electronic version, furthercomprising: storing the electronic version; displaying the electronicversion in a response message; and requesting instructions from a userto send the response message to a specified recipient.
 15. The deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: storing the electronicversion; requesting instructions from a user to send a message to aspecified recipient, wherein the message comprises a link to theelectronic version; and sending the message.
 16. The device according,to claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication that theprocessing device received the captured electronic version, and that thecaptured electronic version is accessible to view; sending a request toview the received captured electronic version; and acquiring access overa network to the received electronic copy.
 17. The device according toclaim 1, further comprising: acquiring access to a list of documents,wherein the list of documents includes a status indicator for eachdocument indicating whether the document has been received by theprocessing device.
 18. The device according to claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise determining that the captured electronicversion fulfills a condition of the loan application.
 19. The deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receivingan indication from a loan affiliate that the captured electronic versionfulfills a condition of the loan application.
 20. The device accordingto claim 1, wherein the alert message comprises at least one of an emailmessage or a text message.